


A Skywalker´s Weakness

by DSpaniard



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21922483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DSpaniard/pseuds/DSpaniard
Relationships: Leia Organa & Han Solo, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Mara Jade & Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 15
Kudos: 29





	1. The Emperor´s Hand

**This is a translation from my fanfic in Spanish published on this same site, and it is also being published on another place where it is already 16 chapters long. My plan is to update weekly and my hope is that when the time comes I will already have the story finished and I´ll complete it with that posting rate.** **English is not my first language so if you can read Spanish I suggest you guys to go and check on it because, obviously, I think I can write better in Spanish than in English, but I will do my best xD**

**Anyway, Star Wars is, y far, my favorite fandom and universe and I feel very comfortable writing about it so there wont be any muse problems (I hope). This fic will be focused on Luke and Mara´s relationship and it will start shortly after the battle of Yavin and the destruction of the first Death Star.**

**I apologize now for any mistakes I can make while writing since I think I have a good English but of course since It is not the language I use to speak I probably am not as good as any English speaker so… sorry for that and I ask you guys to be patient. Tell me in the reviews how to improve xD**

**So, now that has been said, let´s go with the first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any character, world or entity showed in this fic. Star Wars universe belong to Lucasfilms, Mr. God Lucas and Disney.**

_Imperial Palace (Coruscant) – Year 0_

A hooded figure, completely dressed in black robes, remained still in front of the window sitting on his throne. Two all skin and bones, white and wasted away hands could be seen under the large sleeves, resting on his lap while the man remained with his eyes closed, clearly he was deep in his thoughts.

Emperor Palpatine wasn´t used to defeat, especially to a total and astonishing defeat like the one he had suffered. Until that moment every single plan he made had turned out exactly how he foresaw, however, he didn´t count with Director Krennic´s incompetence or his over his head ego, allowing a well-known defector like Galen Erso to work on the project… The Sith Master was ninety hundred percent sure about the Death Star being able to go on and be finished even without the architect that happened to be the reason of the Empire´s most long expected project´s fall… Since the emperor had been working on that even before the clone wars started.

And then there was Tarkin… Honestly the emperor couldn´t have foreseen that continuous of bad decisions all at the same time made by one of the most condecorated Great Moffs in the army…. By destroying Alderaan for a demonstration Tarkin only had put the galaxy on alert, the rebels went out to fight desperately and seeking for vengeance, and Palpatine knew very well how strong could be the vengeance desire.

However, the biggest obstacle, one he could have never predicted, was the boy. Luke Skywalker… The son of the fallen Jedi Anakin Skywalker, and apparently Obi-Wan Kenobi himself had been his master. The very same moment the Death Star exploded Palpatine had sensed his power flow… The boy was powerful in the force, even if he hadn´t received any kind of training. It didn´t meant that he feared the fact of dealing with a new Jedi rookie, it was crystal clear that, regardless how powerful the young Skywalker was, he would never be able to challenge him. However, the perspective was quite uncomfortable, he knew that he needed to end the problem before the rebel alliance started gathering too much hope around their new hero. Vader seemed to have the impression of being easy to turn the boy to the Dark side… And he might be right, so the SIth Lord gave his apprentice permission to do what was necessary to achieve that goal, but he wasn´t completely sure about Vader´s methods, so he decided to start an alternative plan on his own, just in case.

Luckily, the emperor thought he knew pretty well the Skywalker kind, he had observed Anakin Skywalker grow and evolve for years, after all, in his mind he was sure about his son making the same mistakes, he just needed to rush the situation a little-. If his Intel was correct Skywalker was no more than a boy, powerful, indeed, but totally naïve, it wouldn´t be hard to play with his feelings and making those destroy him for good.

Palpatine opened his eyes when he sensed a presence behind the door, he showed a grin on his disfigured face, it was time to start his plan _"Enter, my child…"_ he didn´t need to use words, his mind connected perfectly with the person he was waiting. The throne room´s door opened and Palpatine´s throne turned around to face the person who was entering, the window being now behind him.

A young girl, she was no more than 20 years old, stepped into the room, immediately walking until she was in front of the throne and placed a knee on the floor, bowing his head "Master… How can I serve you?"

Mara Jade had lost count of how many times she had said those very same words, but she never imagined stopping doing it, and he didn´t want to either.

How could she? She was the Emperor´s Hand, his personal assassin, raised since he was 3 years old and trained with the only purpose of serving hi on the shadows, just like Darth Vader did it in public. She was the other side of the same coin, she eradicated the problems before they became a problem and Vader crushed them once they appeared. While she was kneeled Mara cursed himself for not having tied up her scarlet hair, now it was hanging and hiding her face and it was annoying, the emperor could see that as a lack of respect if she didn´t look at him in the eye when he started talking.

"Mara… I am very pleased to see you… Did you have a satisfactory trip?" he asked, but without allowing the girl to stand up, she just nodded lightly "Indeed… The revolutions on Naboo have been reduced, there wont be more insubordination."

Palpatine smiled, seeming pleased with the information "Good, good… You did well… Tarkin should have known that blowing up Alderaan would bring anger and battles in the systems that had friendship with it…" the hooded figure sighed a little, he didn´t like sending his assassin to clean other´s messes, it was a pity that Tarking was dead, he would have received a severe punishment otherwise by the emperor. Hearing those words Mara chewed her lower lip lightly "Master… With your permission… Do you… Approve Great Moff Tarkin´s actions?" she asked, her voice a little shattered. She knew that the emperor couldn´t control everything that happened in the empire, a lot of leaders and generals she had crossed paths with used to abuse the people… It was natural, power corrupts, Mara didn´t want to even imagine how the empire would be if any of those people were in charge instead of Palpatine. Actually, she was almost sure about Vader being the one approving that genocide without his master´s permission.

It took the emperor a few moments to answer, choosing his words carefully and trying them to sounds as sincere and affected as possible "Of course not… Moff Tarkin acted recklessly and he was arrogant, getting himself carried away by the immense power of the battle station under his command to try and achieve his goals… I assure you that, if he was still alive, he would have been severely punished." The redhead nodded, that was what she was expecting, she lived to try and help the empire´s citizens, and the emperor sent her where she was needed to do that, however, both the rebels and some corrupt empire officers seemed to be completely determined to alter the order and endanger innocent empire citizen´s lives. It sickened her that what the emperor was trying to build kept shaking because of the actions of some terrorists or incompetents like those. Palpatine frowned a little, ending the subject there and motioning with his hand Mara to stand up "Rise, my hand… I have a new mission for you, something different of what you have faced before."

Mara stood up, gratefully, and locked her emerald eyes on his master´s "Different?" she asked curiously.

The emperor was able to detect that sign of doubt in her voice, but he simply smiled "Indeed… I would never send anyone else on this mission but you, my child; you are the most qualified in the entire empire… Also, you have the luck of having grown up to become an incredibly beautiful woman." Mara blinked a few times, she was grateful of her master´s compliments, he was right after all, there weren´t a lot of people more qualified than her for any mission, except Vader, she would never be as powerful as a Jedi or a sith, of course, the emperor had been sure of not training her that way… She could be compared with one of his inquisitors, even though she hadn´t been gifted with a lightsaber yet. "Master?" the confusion on her voice when the young girl asked was clear… What did her being beautiful have to do with her mission? Palpatine seemed to guess what she was thinking because he let go a shivering and sinister laugh that echoed all over the throne room "My dear child… What I am going to ask you shouldn´t be a challenge for you, even though you are not very used to it…" Mara waited patiently for the nature of her mission to be revealed, she was starting to have some doubts about it, but then the emperor talked again "as you would know, the Death Star has been destroyed, and the only responsible, in more than one way, of that fact is a new enemy who has appeared in front of us, Luke Skywalker."

Mara Jade frowned, that last name was well known for her, Anakin Skywalker had been a high ranked Jedi general during the clone wars, no doubt he was exterminated during the purge as well "You want me to kill him, master?" Jade asked, determination in her voice, she was sure of being capable of doing it. But, for her surprise, the emperor shook his head "Oh, little one… Even though I appreciate your enthusiasm I would never send you on a mission like that… You are no match for Skywalker, his powers might still be precarious, but there is no doubt he has heritage his father´s strength in the force, I would never forgive myself if I lost you, my child…"

Palpatine added those last words using with the exact touch of worry enough for Mara to be forced to contain a little smirk. Her master was like her father, and listening that from him was comforting, however, she didn´t understand why he doubted her skills for that job "Master… I assure you my skills are more than enough for that task, you wont regret… Send me to kill Skywalker, I assure you I wont f…"

"¡I already said no!" the loud and cutting tone the Lord Sith used sent a shiver down Mara´s spine, who stood completely petrified on the spot. Palpatine´s anger was absolutely terrifying… She had scars all over her body as a proof for that, however, the emperor´s face softened as soon as Mara stopped talking "My child… My plan has much more implications than simply death… In fact, all the Skywalkers share the same weakness… And you and I, specially you, are going to take advantage of it."

_Moving Rebel base "Home One" – six months later._

Luke was meditating, it wasn´t like he could do much more else apart from practice step by step every little force skill Ben taught him and try to improve with his lightsaber using that little training ball. Meditation was, by far, what he could do better, he had always been aware of his surroundings and now it was like his senses were more awoken than ever.

The alliance was not in it´s best moment… Less than a week ago Yavin 4´s base had fallen and the empire had captured general Dodonna during the attack.

" _Rogue squadron to the hangar!"_ the megaphones then cried _"Rogue squadron to the hangar!"_

Luke opened his eyes and stood up without wasting a moment, walking towards his cabinet to change into his orange flying suit, generally the high command didn´t assign so sudden missions, something very bad has to be happening… He walked fast towards the hangar and when he got there almost all his squadron was already there waiting for him… Rogue Squadron was founded by him and Wedge Antilles, the two only survivors of the first battle of Yavin, and was currently formed by both of the,, Wes Janson, Derek Klivia, Zev Senesca and Dak Ralter.

"Hey Boss" Wedge approached Luke, only Wes and Dak were missing, probably they probably got distracted, something Luke was not very happy about considering that what was happening seemed to be urgent "Do you know something about this? It´s weird… No mission was informed about apart from the weapon convoy the Renegade Squad was escorting."

The Jedi aspirant shook his head "I dunno, Wedge, I guess we will find out shortly" as soon as the two remaining pilots stepped into the hangar the general Crix Madine talked to them, he was an imperial officer who defected and happened to be a great active in the alliance considering all the Intel he could give. He didn´t mess around and started talking "We just got a help signal from the Renegade squadron… They have been ambushed, someway the empire knew our plans and they sent troops to intercept them, commander Narran has informed that they had very little chances of making it… You will be sent as backup to try and level the battle and, if possible, finish the current mission… The weapons and supplies the convoy is carrying could be essential for the alliance."

Luke frowned a little but nodded "Alright then… To the fighters!" once that order was given the other five pilots started running the final checks on their X-Wings and got on board, they found out that the coordinates to the Ison runner were already settled on their navicomputers, apparently there was there the renegades had been ambushed "May the force be with us" wished Luke to the intercom, soon enough hearing the agreeing mumbles from his pilots, just before taking flight and jumping to light speed.

It would take them around twenty minutes to reach their goal… Twenty minutes that seemed like an eternity to the worried X-Wing squadron pilots.

Finally, when the blue light spiral turned black again it was clear that the situation was not giving winning hopes for the rebels in combat. There was no sight of the convoy and there were only two X-Wings left battling at least twelve TIE fighters over Chorax planet. Even though it was surprising for them to find out some imperial destroyer recently destroyed by the Renegades.

" _This is Rogue Squadron, Renegades! Baclkup has arrived!"_ said luke to the intercom to all the revel channels in range _"Make groups of two! Dak, you´re with me! Wedge and Wes you go the other way, we four will try and divide the TIEs to toss them away from the Renegades! Zev, Derek, you two cover the Renegades, take down as much TIEs as you can!"_

" _Copy, Rogue Leader!"_ five voices cried at unison in the coms. With Dak on his tail, Luke speeded up and placed his wings on attack position, firing a barrage of blasters against the TIEs, forcing them to open their formation and allowing Zev and Derek to place their fighters between the imperials and the Renegades, starting to battle as well.

Dak and Luke managed to make four TIEs follow them and they already destroyed two with the first attack while Wedge and Wes dealt with other two. The Renegades alongside Zev and Derek didn´t seem to have any problems now, however, while Luke maneuvered to keep his fighter away form the green shots the Tie was tossing against him and trying to lock the imperial in firing range, one of the renegades spoke to him on the coms _"Rogue Leader! This is Renegade three! We appreciate the help but the transport Nonnah has crashed on Chorax system! It´s possible to save the crew and the cargo we gathered!"_

Luke tensed his lips for a moment _"Copy that, Renegade three… Dak, join Zev and Derek, I am going down to the planet… Rogues, cover me!"_

" _Copy that, Rogue leader!"_ with that, Luke speeded up again while a rain of red blasts covered him form possible TIE chasers. The young commander launched himself straight down towards the planet´s surface. Scanning possible signs of the transport. Finally he was able to locate the ship, or what was left of it, but he noticed that a TIE had been able to sneak out of the Rogues´ vigilance and follow him when he was almost obliterated by a rain of green shots. Luke clenched his teeth for a moment and executed a nearly impossible very close twist to the right, channeling the force to help him being precise. The TIE, being more maneuverable than the X-Wing, was able to follow him, but the pilot´s skills were clear there when the imperial pilot needed a few seconds to react, by that time, he was already in Luke´s firing range and allowing the rebel pilot to fire his blaster and make the TIE fighter explode.

Once he got rid of that annoying fighter Luke flew towards the place where he had located the Nonnah and he found a desolating scenario. The shuttle was completely shut down and half destroyed and the almost the entire crew had fallen defending it. In fact, it appeared like only one person was still standing and firing back to the imperial ground troopers attacking, while using the ship´s remainings for cover against the only AT-ST remaining. Luke could tell the crew had fought hard since there were a lot more imperial corpses than rebels, and also no less than two AT-STs and three AT-PTs destroyed on the ground. Luke didn´t hesitate and first he focused his fire on the walker, it didn´t take him long to destroy it. The imperial troops didn´t stand a chance against the air attack and they perished, in less than a minute the place was conflict free.

Luke landed his fighter and stepped out of it, approaching the broken Nonah shuttle, blaster in hand "Hello?! This is commander Skywalker! There are no imperials anymore!" a woman´s face appeared fro behind one of the fallen shuttle pieces, her gold-red hair shined under the sun and she seemed even younger than Luke himself. Her clothing was shuttered and she had taken an ugly shot on her right shoulder "I-Is it over?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Luke approached her carefully, trying and placing a comforting hand on her healthy arm "Yeah… It is over, mission accomplished… Are there any more survivors?" she shook her head when he asked, while some tears sliced down her cheeks from her emerald eyes. Luke closed his eyes; it was a terrible loss… Almost the entire Renegade Squadron and the convoy… "It´s okay… Don´t worry, I´m gonna get you out of here…" but without warning he found himself being hugged by the girl, while she sobbed lightly on his shoulder. Luke could understand her, she just saw all her partners being slaughtered, he didn´t know what to do but he tried to comfort her by giving little and clumsy taps on her back, trying to calm her down. It took a few seconds, but she finally calmed down and let Luke go, drying her tear, Luke gave her a soft smile "My name is Luke Skywalker… Yours?"

"Mara… Mara Jade"

**And that´s it! Well, as some of you could notice (Some other maybe not) I changed what happened on the Ison runner Battle to adequate it t my story´s needs. I needed something like this for Luke and Mara to meet each other and this seemed like the best option, I also did some light modifications on Rogue Squadron.**

**I apologize for any grammar/selling mistake but as I already said English is not my first language, I am working on getting a beta reader whose first language is indeed English so I hope I will get better xD**

**Tell me how you like the story; you know reviews are useful and appreciated… I have most of the plot in my mind but I am open to suggestions… Surprise me and your ideas might appear on the fic!**

**So that´s all form my part, don´t forget reviews and seeya on the next chapter. Be good and May the force be with you, always :P**


	2. The Light side of the Force

**And here I am again with the second chapter. I want to give you guys a warning, I don't think I will be able to keep this updating rhythm, I will probably just post the third chapter pretty quik to see if the story sticks and then go to maybe one a week or something like that, remember I have to write this in Spanish first and then translate it xD**

**In this chapter I am going to focus more on explaining some things and developing the situation, as well as the first contact between Luke and Mara, so it wont be a lot of action on the following chapters, it will come eventually.**

**So that´s all from me, I already talked too much so… Let´s go with chapter 2!**

The light side

_Moving rebel base "Home one"_

Seven X-Wing rebel fighters landed on the hangar belonging to the Mon Calamari MC80 class stellar cruiser that was being used as mobile base for the alliance, followed by two cargo shuttles. The Ison Runner´s battle had been a succeed, only if you looked at it by military side, almost the entire Renegade Squadron had fallen after all, in fact, only one of them had survived and probably he would be out of service for a while.

Luke shut down his fighter´s engines and sighed, taking off his helmet but not going out yet, just resting against his seat and closing his eyes with a defeated gesture. Yeah, sure, they accomplished the mission someway, but it didn´t feel like a victory for him, too much casualties and lost comrades for celebrating. They only had been able to save one of the Renegades, since the other remaining one had been obliterated from the sky during the run.

He just remained still like that for a few seconds, but when he saw and felt his squadron companions already on the ground he opened the cabin and walked down the stair while some workers made sure of take R2 out of the spot for the astromech droid.

"Luke!" the young Skywalker turned around when he heard a very well known female voice calling for him, he smiled lightly when princess Leia Organa appeared, running towards him and greeting him with a hug, which he immediately returned "Hey there Leia… How´s it going?"

"How´s it going?!" when the young girl let him go Luke gulped by hearing her annoyed tone "I heard that you and your squadron had been sent to a mission ten minutes after you were already gone! Do you have any idea of how worried I was?" she lectured him "And to a open battle zone, no less! You were lucky to go out of there without losing any of the rogues!"

Luke´s smile got bigger as he shook his head "I´m okay Leia… We are all good, but the Renegade Squadron is not going to fly again for a long time…" he added with a sense of defeat in his voice. Leia´s face changed immediately to a sympathy one, caressing the former farmer´s arm as a comforting gesture "It´s not your fault, Luke… You did all you could to save them."

Luke raised his head to lock his blue eyes into hers, he didn´t know what Leia had but her simple presence made him feel calmed, it seemed like the two of them had created a connection from the first time they saw each other "I know that… It´s just…"

"They were your friends. It´s always hard to lose the people we care about, Luke, but that´s what happens in war, the best way to honor them is to keep fighting and get the win for them."

He sighed and hugged her again "Thank you, Leia" she simply tapped him on the back a few times while she chuckled a little "It´s okay. Good work, commander Skywalker. By the way, I am here to let you know that the high command is gathered and waiting for your mission report."

Luke let her go and nodded, giving her an exaggerated polite greeting "Of course, your worshipfulness, I will be there."

Leia just rolled her eyes and walked away from there, Luke then started to look around until he saw the shuttles starting to get all the cargo, guns and supplies out and into the hangar´s floor. Once the place was clear form imperials the alliance had sent two smaller shuttles to save the cargo from the shut down Nonnah to take them to the mobile base, and also transport the surviving girl since she couldn´t be transported in one of the X-Wings for obvious reasons of lacking of room.

He locked his eyes then on the redhead, Mara was descending from the shuttle, she looked healthier; her bruises and wounds were cleaned up and her injured shoulder was wrapped in bandages, when her emerald eyes met him she smiled and walked towards him "Uhm… He-Hello, commander Skywalker…" she greeted a little shyly, making clear that she didn´t forget about the military protocols to speak to someone with higher range than her.

He just smiled in a friendly way "It´s okay, call me Luke, they only call me commander in more official situations… How are you feeling?"

The young Jade was scanning every single move the Jedi apprentice did, his face made clear that he trusted her completely, he had expected that after all, the emperor assured her that the boy was completely naïve and simply by acting friendly she would have him eating out of her hand "Better… Well… It´s pretty hard, that was my first real battle and… I wasn´t expecting it to turn out that way." She closed her eyes when she answered, seeming affected.

Luke sighed, he could empathize completely with her, the first battle he took part on had resulted on the dead of almost all his companions as well "I understand… I also lost almost my first squadron during my first battle…" he explained. Mara raised her head to lock her green eyes on his blue ones "The Death Star?" she asked out of curiosity, but also trying to sound empathic… The imperial archives delivered by Darth Vader explained that only two rebel fighters had survived the battle out of the thirty that attacked in the first place.

However, if you looked at it the other way around, thousands of imperials had perished when the space station exploded, in fact, Vader was the only survivor. She couldn´t understand how the rebels walked round whining about their losses when they were the same way.

"Exactly… That was my first battle and twenty-eight companions died, it was very hard to take on, specially because now I am suffering something call the survivor´s guilt… I cannot help it." Mara nodded and gave him a light mile "You are Luke Skywalker… IT´s more than clear that you have a destiny to accomplish, any of your friends would be more than willing to give their lives to see the rebellion succeed thanks to you… Besides, they were warriors, they knew what they signed up for, I know it doesn´t help much, but that's what I try to think."

Luke nodded, now that he saw her smile he couldn´t help but notice that she was very beautiful and physically attractive… And he surprised himself staring at her more than what could be appropriate and as soon as he noticed it he tried to focus his sight on her emerald eyes once again. Mara didn´t miss that fact, but decided not to say anything yet, it wasn´t the moment to tease. She wasn´t very used to use her body as a weapon since she never needed it. Subjects like love, or relationships were something she was not familiar with… Even though it seemed like a simple touch would make the young Skywalker´s mind fly.

When those thoughts crossed her mind, the emperor´s hand decided to take one more step… Luke wasn´t able to control the force yet, so he wouldn´t be able to shield his mind rom intrusions, so Mara concentrated lightly to try and touch Luke´s mind and see what she was dealing with.

The moment the subtle conscience of Mara Jade connected with Luke Skywalker´s mind a new and overwhelming feeling trapped the young girl.

What was that? The force… The force inside Skywalker… She had never felt something like that before… So pure, so full of light… Mara´s mind was completely fed by the dark side flowing from the emperor and Vader that a torrent of the light side like that was like lighting a lighthouse in the middle of the night, it blinded her and she lost her breath for a single moment. However, she wasn´t able to let go, that was like a drug… The sensation of calm and nobility she was feeling was addictive… Mara never thought the force could offer something like that.

However, before allowing her mind to start growing doubts Mara shook her head and stepped back from Skywalker all of sudden, breathing heavily and massively opening her eyes.

Luke, who didn´t have any clue of what just happened, got worried "Mara?" the former farmer approached her step by step, afraid of something serious being going on "Are you alright?" Very carefully, he placed a hand on the young redhead´s shoulder, and apparently the physical contact allowed Mara to finally snap back to reality.

She shook her head once again and answered a little suddenly "Yeah… Sure… Just a little shuttered, a lot happened in just one day, I guess."

Luke nodded, still feeling worried "Why don´t you go get some rest?" he asked "I have to go and report th emission to the high command, but we could talk again at dinner…" Mara smiled weakly, showing that, indeed, she could use some rest "Yeah… I think I will go with that, thanks, Luke… See you later then?"

"Sure! I can show you around, not that there is a lot to do around here so the best option is to hang out with people, I can introduce you to the squadron." Mara smiled even brightly, that seemed like it was going to be easier than what she thought initially "I would love that, thank you…"

"Well… I think I have to hit the shower, I will be going now, I don´t want to go to the reunion stinking like X-Wing" added the young rebel with a chuckle, that apparently he passed on to Mara who chuckled back. However, when Luke turned around and started walking away Mara called for him "Luke!" he turned around, curious, and she just said "Thank you for saving my life…"

The young boy just smiled and nodded lightly, walking then towards the bedrooms while Mara started looking for someone who could assign one for her.

….

The young Jedi stripped from his flying suit and walked towards the refresher, while he got a shower his thoughts flew towards the new girl, thinking that she was not all bad… In fact, she was great, and she seemed kind… Actually, she had to be good in combat considering she managed to hold a lot of imperial soldiers all by herself for a long amount of time, maybe he would offer her a spot with the Rogues… They didn´t find new recruits every day after all, now it only lasted to know if the girl could fly.

He went out of the refresher and dressed on his military uniform, it didn´t seem like he was going to get used to that, he had lived wearing farmer clothes all day and the attires he had to wear there were completely different.

However, that one was, by far, the most uncomfortable… It was tight and the shirt´s neck made him choke a little…

Luke sighed and went out his room to walk towards the command room where Mon Mothma, General Madine, Admiral Ackbar and Leia were already waiting for him.

"Commander Skywalker, welcome" greeted Mon Mothma, the rebel alliance´s leader. She was a light old woman, she had served in the senate as Chandrilla´s senator even before the clone wars started, she always was a firm defender of the republic, but with the dissolution of the imperial senate she had started taking a more active part on the alliance as a military strategist and leader.

"Ma´am…" Luke greeted with a bow of his head, and repeated the gesture with all the other people there "I´m sorry about the delay, I had to clean myself up after a long battle like that."

"There is no problem, commander. Now, if you may, we would like to hear your report about the mission said General Madine, gesturing Luke to take a sit on one of the remaining chairs. Young Skywalker did so and placed his hands on his knees, thiking a little before starting to talk "The situation was against the odds… Only Renegade three and five were alive when we got there and the Nonnah had crashed on planet Chorax and was receiving a heavy attack by earth forces…" Luke sighed "Once there I decided to make first priority to protect the Renegades remaining by taking the TIEs away from them so I started a maneuver to make sure the imperials followed me and my squadron, it went well until Renegade three informed me about the situation with the Nonnah so I decided to descend while my team covered me and after taking down the imperial forces on the surface I sent a help signal to pick up the cargo and the only survivor."

Admiral Ackbar looked at General Madine "I thought intelligence had made sure about the convoy´s route being completely secret and safe" the former imperial general nodded "And they did… Maybe we should consider giving the imperial spies more credit… And run a checking on the base to try and look for moles."

Luke looked at the General "General… Are you suggesting that we could have an imperial spy on Home one?"

"We cannot discard it, commander, It´s possible they found out by intercepting some transmission, but the contact who offered this cargo in Sullust was clear, intelligence investigated him deeply, we would need to try and make it seem like a routine checking while we try to unmask the mole, in case we have one." Explained Madine. Mon Mothma and Leia had remained silent during all the meeting, but then Leia spoke "Uhm.. Maybe we should divide our forces, that way we wouldn´t have all our secrets in one place…" she said, and Mothma nodded "I agree, if we indeed have an spy Home One might not be sage, and the new base project was only acknowledged by the high command,, we should inform to speed up the construction so we could send a part of the alliance there, and it could be a good idea to look for a new home ship, so that way we would have two mobile units instead of just one."

Madine seemed to agree "Very well, I will contact admiral Monnon and I will let him know he should double the efforts, we will try to make the moving there in two months tops."

Mothma nodded "It´s settled then… Skywalker, you and your team did a very good job, you are dismissed" Luke bowed his head "Thank you Ma´am"

When he went out the room Leia followed him "This is gonna be a problem…" said the Alderaan´s princess, and Luke nodded in agreement "I know… People is gonna suspect something is going on, even if they try to pass it like a routine checking… IT could make things at the base uncomfortable."

"It might be, but there is no other choice, if we indeed have a mole we have to find him… Anyway… See you at dinner." Said Leia and gifted him with a peek on the cheek as a goodbye, Luke smiled as a thank you "Yeah, see you there…"

….

The young redhead was sitting on her bed´s edge; the bedroom assigned to her was not the big thing… A bed, a bathroom, a cabinet and a working desk. It wasn´t like she didn´t anything else, she was used to sleep in way worse places than that after all.

He managed to accomplish her first goal, to approach Skywalker, , her master assigned her the mission of infiltrating the rebel alliance and she did it with the biggest discretion possible. First he managed to locate a faction of rebel sympathizers in Sullust so she signed in the military academy in that planet, pretending to be a random young girl like any other, it made sense for someone her age to start her military career after all. She didn´t lose time to start showing signs of disapproval against the empire and it didn´t take long for the rebel unit to contact her, so she happily accepted joining them.

After that, her status as the Emperor´s Hand allowed her to make sure to leave a cargo of weapons and supplies without a lot of vigilance so some of the rebel contacts would mark it as a possible mission and, seeing his chance, he decided to steal it and, by the way, give the defectors from Sullust, Mara alongside them, a way out of the planet. Mara also made sure about the imperials knowing about the plans and the route the convoy was going to follow, but without revealing her identity to them. If she wanted the plan to succeed it had to seem like the imperials were actually trying to kill her, and she trusted her being able to hold them until the rebels appeared and help, luckily, no one apart from Vader and Palpatine himself knew how the emperor´s hand looked like.

Everything turned out just perfect, in fact, it was even better than how she had planned since Skywalker himself was the one rescuing her, so that gave her the chance to approach him in a grateful and nice attitude… However, the nature of the force flowing out of the boy caught her out of guard… She didn´t expect something like that.. So pure… So bright and comforting… It didn´t seem like the boy had any kind of bad intentions inside his mind and, for a moment, Mara even asked herself if the boy deserved what was about to come, but she dismissed those thoughts from her mind immediately, she didn´t want the emperor to feel her insecurities, she had a job to do, and she was going to succeed…

**And that´s the second chapter for you! I really hope you guys liked it even though it wasn´t as much action as in the first one, I tried to focus more on Luke and Mara´s first conversation and that first look from Mara´s part to Luke´s mind… Also, now there is an investigation ongoing O.O That´s definitely not gonna be good for Mara.**

**Reviews, ideas and building critics and simply opinions are appreciated, I like to listen to you guys and know what you think about my story after all. I will probably upload the third chapter pretty quickly and then go to a chapter per week or something like that, probably.**

**Well, seeya next chapter, don´t forget to review, be good and May the Force be with you, always :P**


	3. ROGUE SQUADRON

**And here it is the third chapter! Welp, I warned you that my posting rhythm wouldn´t be as fast as between the first two chapters since I had the two almost completely written when I started this story. However, I hope the waiting was worth it since this is the longest chapter I have ever written in any of my fics, so get comfortable and enjoy it. Fortunately, I have until chapter 11 of this story written, so I will go and publish a chapter per week until I run out of them.**

**I warn you though, I am going to make things a little calmer and focus on character developing instead of action, I already told you that in the previous chapter and I do it again now, soon things will start to happen though, so don´t worry, anyway, if you are reading this story because you like the relationship between Luke and Mara I kind of think you will like this chapter : )**

**Once again thank you for your support and for following this story, it encourages me to keep writing, and remember reviews are always welcomed, thank you for the ones who took the time to do leave a comment.**

**Well that´s all, let´s get going with the thrid chapter.**

Rogue Squadron

_Mobile Rebel base – Hone one_

Luke stepped into his room once again after his little chat with Leia and sat on his bed´s edge, slowly covering his face with his hands. Th following days were going to be harsh for sure… Did the high command really believe that the basement´s crew was going to buy the story of a routine checking? Imperials had just found out about an operation´s route that was supposed to be top secret and now suddenly intelligence was going to start interrogating everyone on the basement… It wasn´t too hard to put two and two together… Hell, the rebels were quite intelligent people after all. Luke couldn´t tell it to his squadron and that bothered him, he didn´t like having secrets with the boys, they were like his new found family, alongside Han, Leia and Chewie of course. The young Jedi sighed and changed clothes, finally getting out of that commander suit to replace it with a pair of gray pants and a black t-shirt, he didn´t like wearing too excessive clothing and preferred being comfortable, in fact, that was the philosophy of mostly the entire base, qith the exception of Leia and Mon Mothma, of course.

He still had around two hours until dinnertime arrived, so Luke decided to sit down and meditate. He sat down on the floor and crossed his legs, getting into the correct position with his hands on his knees, he closed his eyes and tried to make his mind blank to feel the force surrounding him… He wasn´t able to sense much just yet, he simply managed to get into some kind of weird trance that allowed him to think more clearly and hear, smell or feel what was happening around him… Nothing extra sensorial was supposed to happen though. Luke wondered if that sense with the force thingy would only happen with adrenaline running his veins, actually his most impressive achievements through the force were sensing the explosion of Alderaan while he was training blindfolded with Ben and also blowing up the Death Star by using the force to guide his instincts when firing the proton torpedoes to the exhaust port.

However, something estrange happened that day, something that hadn´t happened to him before ever since he started using the force… He _felt_ something… Another person, in fact, he was pretty sure about he or she being on the base, he felt the presence close, like a little shiny spot, not very big, but it glowed amazingly, making itself noticeable, like wanting to make clear that it was there. However, Luke wasn´t experienced enough sensing through the force yet so he wasn´t able to locate it and much less identify it… But it was intriguing for sure… Was there another force user on the base?

….

Mara was laying on her bed, looking up to the ceiling, trying to put her thoughts together so she could come out with a plan… It seemed like it would be a long process, luckily her master hadn´t demanded a quick work and she didn´t have a limit date for accomplishing her mission. And besides, Vader was also planning something to try and get the boy, maybe her intervention wasn´t even needed after all, but she should plan for the worst scenario and think that Vader would fail and she would need to step forward, so she would make a plan for that.

It was strange though, considering all the missions she had done in the past for the emperor this one could easily be the most important one, she didn´t have the chance to deal with Jedi business before after all… Vader and the inquisitors were the ones dealing with those sort of things, it was clear that the young redhead girl wouldn´t stand a chance against a trained Jedi after all. But this boy wasn´t trained, he didn´t even seem like a threat, but her orders weren´t to kill him, so there wasn´t no point in worrying about it anyway… However, for some reason she wasn´t comfortable doing what he was doing, she didn´t like the mission, and that annoyance had started bothering her only a few hours ago, since her first real conversation with Skywalker. Mara was trying to calm herself, close her eyes and try to throw those thoughts away, it wasn´t convenient for her if Palpatine was able to sense those doubts in her mind, she didn´t want to be punished when she got back to Imperial Center.

But it seemed like it was too late sice Mara sensed a presence in the force touching her mind in the subtlest way… The young girl tensed herself and opened her eyes, she just assumed it was her master trying to contact her, no one else had ever contacted her after all, in fact, the only one capable of doing it apart from the Emperor was Darth Vader, and the black masked Sith didn´t seem to bother noticing her.

Mara sighed to try and relax while lowering her mental shields, letting her master in, but she opened his eyes in surprise when she realized it wasn´t Palpatine… Actually, it was quite the opposite.

She recognized that force signature immediately; the light, the pureness and the nobility coming out from it overwhelmed her the second time in the same day, even though in that occasion it was lightly different…

It was Skywalker himself the one who had opened his mind and reached out in the force, and that meant everything flowing out of his mind was amplified since Mara had only scratched the surface when she contacted the young rebel´s mind hours ago, and she had pulled away almost immediately because of the astonishing experience it had been back then.

Mara closed her eyes once again, letting the light fill her, and enjoying it for a few seconds. She didn´t even think about it being dangerous or risky in some way, she forgot about her training for just a moment and simply let herself do what she wanted to do, that wasn´t common in The Emperor´s Hand, and she didn´t even know what had pushed her to make that decision, considering that Skywalker could discover her.

…

Luke slowly opened his eyes and frowned a little… It was a strange presence, actualy he wasn´t sure if It could be considered strange since he had never connected with anyone except for Ben when he talked to him… But he had to take in count that Ben Kenobi´s presence in his mind came from someone who was dead, now he was pretty sure _that_ was the force signature he should consider strange or weird.

Young Skywalker came back to reality, but something felt different that time, generally the feelings or sensations he discovered while meditating didn´t stay with him after finishing and cutting his trance. However, that presence… That little light was completely stack on his head. It didn´t bother him, though, it didn´t even feel like it was something new, , it seemed natural to him, like it was meant to be there, and he was actually a little happy about apparently doing some progress with the force, even if he wasn´t sure what that progress was… Maybe it meant being in synchrony with the force or something like that, feeling those kind of things around you and seeing them as normal. It was pretty nice, actually… A little smile appeared on Luke´s lips, but it didn´t take long until he stood up from the floor, he had some work to do since the loss of the Renegade Squadron meant that Rogue Squadron was now the only active elite pilots unit in the base so they would have extra work to do, maybe he should consider increasing the number of pilots on the squadron, the down side was that it was pretty difficult finding pilots that were good enough to fit with the Rogues and also willing to risk their lives kind of weekly since the missions Luke´s squadron used to take weren´t anything near to a piece of cake. He was absolutely determined to offer Mara a place in the squadron, he didn´t know why but he was kind of sure she could fly… He couldn´t explain it, he just knew it.

When eh finally sat on his deck and started reading through the available pilots´ archives on his datapad, taking notes and classifying the ones who seemed more competent, that task kept him absorbed during the hour and a half left for dinne and Luke completely forgot about the little light stack on a deep corner of his mind.

….

Mara was lightly smiling, laying on her bed with her eyes closed while she allowed Skywalker to surround her with his force presence, in fact, if she paid attention, the boy´s mind seemed to be curious and confused, like he had just made a great discovery, there was quite a lot innocence on it to be honest, and Mara had never felt anything like that, she would have liked to feel some of those emotions across her life, but she should be grateful to Palpatine… She was nothing without him after all.

When the presence finally dozed away young Jade growled a little in protest, before opening her eyes and looking around. She sighed lightly, she wasn´t very proud about how she had just done, but she didn´t regret it either, actually she wouldn´t mind if Skywalker touched her mind every once in a while while he meditated, it was an amazing feeling… It was a pity, a real pity the Emperor being so interested in the ex farmer boy… Mara frowned then and tried to focus and concentrate… What was that? Something seemed to… glow… Deep inside her mind, like the force had just left it there like a little candle, just a pinch of light to try and counter all the negativity Mara had received across her living years. The redhead focused on it and smiled once again, there wasn´t any doubt about who that energy belonged to, he couldn´t possibly be mistaken. She didn´t even bother opening her eyes, she didn´t know how much time she got until dinner time btu she actually didn´t care, it was a really exhausting day, so it didn´t took her more than ten minutes to fall asleep.

She didn´t know how long she had been sleeping, but she started to slowly wake up and recovering her conscience when she felt a presence in the force… It was getting closer and the moment it was next to the redhead Mara had already woken up completely. She opened her eyes and grabbed his blaster, resting on her nightstand, aiming to the person who stood next to her bed.

Luke jumped in surprise and lost his balance, falling down and hitting his ass on the ground before rising her hands on a calming gesture "Wow, wow, wow…! Easy there! It´s just me!"

"Luke?" Mara lowered her weapon when she recognized her visitor "Ugh… For the Force… Dion´t scare me like that…" she had forgotten about showing herself shy and grateful, she was just her now, and she actually surprised herself being kind of nice to Skywalker "What are you dong here?"

Luek sighed and stood up "Well ehm… It´s time for dinner… I dunno, I didn´t see you there and I thought that you might had gotten lost…" answered the young man "But seeing that you would be capable of killing to be able to continue your nap I will just let you be…"

Mara laughed and put the blaster back where it was "No, I´m actually hungry, let me change clothes and lead me to the eating room, I am not sure about being able to find it on my own." The young Jade climbed off the bed and looked for some clean clothes on her cabinet, when she was about to change she noticed Luke was still there, looking at her. She raised her eyebrow "Do you mind? OR would you rather enjoy the show?"

At first Luke gave her a confused look, but once a cable connected on his brain he blushed fiercely "oh! Of course! I-I´m sorry…" he said, turning around and looking down to the ground, and Mara cold swear she was able to see smoke coming out his ears.

The girl couldn´t help but smile, she could feel Skywalker´s power, she knew he was capable of doing great things and for what she heard before the mission he managed to be a great and successful squadron leader, but he still acted like an inexpert teen and insecure, not that she was the one to talk anyway… She had just been with two men across her life after all and it was very sudden and casual… Even though she was pretty sure she wouldn´t blush in a situation like the current. In fact, she started to think about putting aside the cover of a good, nice and grateful girl and just be herself, it seemed like it would work the same way with Skywalker anyway.

Mara was fast changing, taking off her bruised, broken and bloody clothes until she was only in her underwear, a black sports bra and simple panties of the same color, and then started to get dressed with a simple white trousers and a big sleeveless black top, letting her midsection exposed, she also put her scarlet hair on a high ponytail "Ready… Shall we go?" she announced… She thought that attire like that would catch Skywalker´s attention even more, and she wasn´t wrong. As soon as the pilot turned around to look at her she could see him analyzing every curve of her body with his blue eyes, but she faked not noticing it, and Luke immediately locked his eyes on hers.

"Ehm… Yeam sure, let´s get going." He said, opening the door so the young girl could get out first, he was still polite after all, and that didn´t go unnoticed by Mara "Well, that´s very nice of you…" she said while she walked next to Luke and exited the room by moving her hips more than usual.

Luke gulpd and closed the door "Well, I was always told that manners are important."

Hearing that, while they walked, Mara grew a little curious about the place Luke had grown up, someone that powerful, a famous Jedi´s son "Oh? Have Did you grow up in aristocracy or something like that?" she knew it wasn´t like that, but the emperor had only given her the intel about Luke being a farmboy and him being naïve, if she wanted to be able to get close to him and make him trust her completely she needed to play her cards and, for that, she needed to know the whole story.

"I grew up on Tatooine" he answered then "On a moisture farm since I have memory… I was there less than a year ago, It´s still hard to believe how much things have changed in a short amount of time, to be honest."

Mara didn´t even need to fake surprise with that… He didn´t even get any kind of combat training or something in that regard? He had lived in Tatooine all his life?A planet isolated form the war and he had joined the Rebellion regardless… That was strange, and the question seemed to just pop out of her mouth without control, needing to satisfy her own curiosity, not thinking about the mission anymore "Tatooine huh? Wow… I didn´t see that coming… And how did you end up here?"

Luke smiled in a sad way "It was kind of by accident actually… You can call it the will of the force if you want but… My uncle simply bought two androids to the Jawas that happened to be carrying the stolen secret plans for the Death Star that Leia had managed to hide inside R2 before she was captured." Luke explained "I met Ben and he told me about my father, he gave me my lightsaber and asked me for help rescuing the princess… I didn´t want to interfere at first, but when I came back home the stromtroopers had burned down my farm and my aunt and uncle with it to ashes… Just because they had accidentaly bought two androids, I just couldn´t do nothing about it…"

Mara gulped a little, opening her eyes in shock "The empire… The empire killed your aunt and uncle just because buying the wrong androids?" she asked once again, clearly showing her shock in her words.. She knew some Imperial leaders liked to abuse the people… Btu that was completely inexcusable, it might not be anything compared to destroying Alderaan, but the premise was the same… IF you are in my way, you must be destroyed, she had to inform Palpatine about everything she was finding out when she get back to Imperial Center. Luke just nodded sadly, clearly hurt by memories "Yeah… I dunno why you look so surprised though. Didn´t you leave the empire because those kind of things? While I lived in Tatooine I didn´t like the empire much, but I never thought they could go that far, to be honest…"

"I…" Mara gulped again, that was true, her cover was her defection from Military academy in Sullust "Yeah… Well… I defected after Alderaan… But I can´t help but still get surprised when I hear about those kind of atrocities, you know?"

Luke nodded once again "Yeah, I get you… But anyway, we are here now, and what we have to do is keep fighting to honor the fallen, you said it, remember?"

Mara just nodded her agreement, lost in her thoughts once again, since he was in the rebel base she she hadn´t stop letting her mind fly on some dangerous ways,, and he didn´t even spend a whole day in Home One… She wondered how she would end up when she finished her mission and she had to go back to Palpatine… She hoped that at least her master decided to take a step forward and punish all of the officials who were performing those senseless massacres.

They didn´t talk much more the rest of the way to the eating room, where the Rogues were engaged on a quite out loud conversation.

Wedge was sitting with his hands behind his head without paying much attention to what the other members of the squadron were saying, just as Zev was doing, both of them were the most veterans and adults of the team, they didn´t have much interest in the subject that seemed to have the other three rogues so heated up.

"I´m telling you! Twi´lek girls are the hardest to get! For real, all that dancing thing is just a trick." Wes was telling his partner. Wes Janson joined the squadron a couple of months after the Battle of Yavin and Wedge decided to take care of him. HE was young, impulsive and he liked to prank, he was the main responsible of the family environment the Rogues had between the,. Sitting right next to him was Dak Ralter, who replied him "Really? C´mon man, I´m sure you´re making that up! The fact that they say no to you doesn't prove anything! Hell, you wouldn´t have any chances even with Mon Mothma!"

That made all the pilots laugh, except for Wedge of course, who answered with some annoyed mumblings. Despite what could look like, Wes and Dak were best buddies, they had joined the squadron almost at the same time and were around the same age, in fact, they both were kind of under the protection of the two founders since Luke had decided to take Dak as his "protégée" since he was the youngest. Dak had served as Luke´s wingman on almost all the missions since then, and he wasn´t doing bad at all.

However, the argument ended when Derek Klivian, who everyone in the squadron called Hobbie, raised his head when eh noticed his commander get close with the redhead girl following close "Hey Rogues! It seems that the Commander finally found himself a girl!"

Instantly all heads on the table turned towards the two, Luke sighed and shook his head while Mara raised an eyebrow curiously… Where the hell did they get that assumption?

"Guys, this is Mara" Luke said, starting with the introductions and pointing the squadron members while he named them "Mara, these are Wedge, Zev, Wes, Dak and Hobbie, Rogue Squadron." Everyone raised their glasses when they were named and gave her a greeting gesture, Dak was the first to talk, smirking a little intentionally "So tell me, boss… Isn´t this beautiful girls the one you rescued from Chorax?"

Luke nodded, while politely put aside a chair to allow Mara to sit "Indeed, she is." He answered. It was Wes this time the one to speak "Seriously, boss… You kind of have a gift for rescuing hot girls… First Leia and now Mara. How can it be you are not able to get a girl?"

"Maybe because he is busy rescuing and serving the alliance than thinking about that, something I see you guys don´t do… Weren´t you supposed to be elite pilots?" Mara suddenly asked, with a proud smile on her face, that made Wes close his mouth immediately and the others laughed once again, Luke included. Wedge was the first to talk "I like her, Boss, she knows how to defend herself."

She laughed a little, they didn´t seem like bad people at all and she could get used to be around them, Luke just shrugged and asked Mara "What would you like to eat?" She looked at him, now that she thought about it no one had ever asked her that kind of question, and she wasn´t prepared for it "I… Don´t know… Same as you, I guess, I don´t know the menu here…" she excused herself, she didn´t want to spend much time thinking about the food since that could look weird.

Luke smiled kindly at her "Sure! I will bring a menu for you as well." He said, before turning around to go get the food.

Wedge looked at Mara then "So how are you adjusting to this? I have heard you defected from the empire with the convoy." The redhead looked at him, of course, that was her cover story, she smiled lightly at him and nodded "Yeah… There were a lot of things I didn´t like form the empire but… I never thought this being that different, it seems much less professional, not offense meant…" this time it was Dak the one laughing out loud "Ha! We consider that a compliment!" said the young pilot "Those imperioals think they are so cool with all those protocols and rules! But we don´t do anything but kick theyr srry asses! They need at least two times our fighters to have a chance of winning!"

The pilots nodded and mumbled they approvals, even raised they drinks and drank in agreement with what Dak had said. Mara was a little overwhelmed, she had never seem that kind of environment in any imperial installation, there weren´t a lot of friendships, people just ate without doing much talking and go back to work. However, across the entire cafeteria loud conversations, laughs and arguments could be heard… She knew the alliance was militarily affective, they had achieved a few important victories over the empire after all, but she had never imagined a group of capable soldiers acting like that.

"I… Well… Yeah I guess that´s it. I think It will just take me a little while to get used to this." The Emperor´s hand excused herself, Hobbie spoke "Yeah I get you, Wedge and I defected form the empire as well… When we got to the rebellion it happened to be a very sudden change about how things are done in the empire but don´t worry, you get used to it pretty fast, it is always better to change for better after all, right?"

Mara didn´t have time to answer since Luke arrived shortly with two trays full of food "Dinner´s ready!" he said, placing a whole menu in front of Mara whole he sat down next to her, quickly starting to dig into his food without a lot of consideration. Zev shook his head then and chuckled "Excuse our commander, Mara… When his stomach is empty he suddenly forgets about any kind of manners."

Luke raised his head to look at both of them with a confused look, his cheeks full of food "Hmmm?" he made a sound of questioning but he didn´t open his mouth to prevent some spitting.

Mara couldn´t hold a chuckle and then starting laughing even more, to be honest she never thought about being so comfortable with those rebels, in fact, she was just thinking about having dinner with these people after all, her mission was just buried deep in her mind at that moment…

**And that´s it guys! Wow… That came out longer than expected… To be honest I had some troubles to write the meditation scene, I didn´t want it to be tiring to read, please tell me on the coments what you guys thought about it and if you saw it too long.**

**Seems liek Mara is starting to get along with the squadron, and that´s good… Right? Considering that Luke wants to ask her to fly with them xD**

**Anyway, I dunno when I will update the next chapter, but I dont´think it will take long, but you guys consider I have to post it in Spanish and then translate it. Remember that reviews with constructive crytics, suggestions or justoppininos are very welcomed and they help a lot to keep my muse high and see the acceptance this story is having.**

**Well, nothing else to say from me,see you guys next week. Don´t forget to review, be good and may the forcé be with you, always :P**


	4. Rogue Girl

**Well, for starters I want to say that apparently I am not able to keep a consistent updating rythim, so that´s out there, I´ll try and update soon though xD**

**But what it matters is that the chapter is finally here and I hope you guys enjoy it. , and also some things are going to start happening until we have a time jump to episode V´s beginning, probably happening pretty soon, since the introduction is going to end soon as well.**

**Once again thank you very much to everyone who follows and kudos this story and, beyond that, to the people who had bothered of taking a moment and give me a review, It means a lot to me and it really helps me and encourages me to keep writing and do my best to make you guys happy.**

**Well, now that´s said, let´s go with chapter 4!**

Dinner was going peacefully, Mara wasn´t actually participating much in the chatting between the rogues that were mainly focused on ships, women and the alliance´s situation. The redhead was actually surprised about the high amount of jokes the pilots shared between them, most of them targeting Luke regarding the fact of bringing her to dinner. Mara saw that as a positive development, it could probably help her earn Skywalker´s trust earlier than she had guessed if he was getting kind of pushed towards a relationship with her by his men.

However, even if she was constantly smiling and actually enjoying herself during the dinner with the Rogues, she stopped paying attention to the conversation at hand, that was until she vaguely heard Luke´s voice calling up for her "Mara? Hey there! Mara!" the young Jedi added with a little smirk, trying to take the redhead out of her little trance. She raised her head from her food and looked confused "Eh? What? It´s me?"

Luke laughed, just like the rest of the pilots, and then he asked "I was wondering if you had flying experience on the imperial academy."

She smiled a little and smiled proudly, that wasn´t exactly a lie, since she had actually received piloting lessons on an imperial academy, only that it wasn´t located on Sullust like her cover story stated "Of course… We were taught how to fly TIE fighters and a few other imperial ships and shuttles, in fact, I am the first of my promotion." She added that last one with a clear pride tone, which was also true, she was one of the best pilots on the empire after all, like the emperor´s Hand should be. Luke seemed pleased with her answer and he asked again "Could you fly a X-Wing?"

Mara looked around to the other pilots, who were waiting eagerly for her answer… She didn´t know exactly what all of that was about, but he pride didn't let her answer any other way, she crossed her arms on her chest and formed a cocky smile "I can fly anything."

To her surprise, Skywalker´s smile grew a even more when she answered, as well as the other squadron´s pilots´, specially Wedge, Wes and Dak, even though the young Skywalker´s smile was the brightest one when he talked, clapping his hands once enthusiastically "That´s great then!" he said "We have been looking for new pilots for the Rogues for quite a while, but it´s really hard to find people who can fly at the same level we do not flying for another squadron and that are actually willing to risk their lives in our elite missions…"

The young girl blinked a few times, not quite believing what she was starting to think he was implying "I… you…?" she babbled for a moment, before regaining her composure "Are you offering me a spot with the Rogues?"

Luke Smiled but shook his head "No, no… Well… At least not exactly" he started to explain "I am offering you the chance of doing the trials for it, we need only the best with us and well… I think you can handle it."

Mara raised an eyebrow lightly, she wasn´t used to do any kind of tests of any kind and that could be interesting, even fun, so she simply nodded in agreement "Alight… Keep me informed on that regard" she said, even though she suddenly thought about something "Isn´t something weird to go around offering chances to join your squadron to new people?" asked the redhead, even though it was Wedge the one answering this time "It is… but there is a problem with that… Most of the new recruits for the Rebellion are people form occupied planets who don´t want to live under the oppression anymore and with absolutely no military training… We train them ourselves but it takes some time… Luke here is actually the exception to the rule, coming form a desert farming life and suddenly becoming a hero… But I guess that´s something to do with that force thing" the Corellian pilot chuckled and Luke shrugged with a smile, but then he continued "So since the Rogues have been on need of new pilots for a while, and even more now that the Renegades are out of service, the best option are imperial defectors who actually have piloting experience, even if it is only from the academy."

Mara nodded lightly… Interesting, so the empire defectors turned out to be valuable members of the rebellion, that wasn´t actually surprising, the imperial military academies were the best of the galaxy after all. She smiled once again to look at the young Totooinean boy with curiosity "And how would those trials go exactly?" she asked. The former farmboy finished drinking a bit of water and placed his glass back on the table. That was another fact the rest of the pilots bullied him about, apparently the commander was the only one not drinking alcohol most of the time, he sued water or some kind of juices during the meals and only actually drank in special occasions, while the other rogues were often seem with a glass of Agarican Beer or Ruvian Fizzh… Too bad the Corellian whisky was hard to smuggle and the Rebellion´s founds were not high enough to spend on luxury alcoholic drinks.

"Well… I don´t really know, to be honest, I have never organized pilot tests before since we founded the squadron after the battle of Yavin and we already knew each other" explained Luke "but I think we will do some kind of battle situation test in the simulator and as a finishing we would do a field test, even though we will not put the recruits under much real danger."

Mara frowned hearing that "Not real Danger, Skywalker? What´s this about? You think a girl cannot face real danger?"

Luke actually choked a little bit when he heard the annoyed tone she was using " …? N-No, of course not… I didn´t mean… I mean… Leia and Mon Mothma are…"

Without letting Luke finish his apology Mara just busted into laughter, followed by the rest of the squadron "Oh my god, Skywalker! I´m just teasing you! Really! You should have seen your face, it was absolutely priceless!"

Luke blushed brightly and hid his face in his food plate, focusing on eating while his cheeks burned.

After a few seconds the laughing was interrupted by a voice calling from behind Luke "Good evening, Rogues… Would you mind if I sit?" Wedge was the first one nodding and bowing a little "Your highness…" he said while Leia smiled to him in return and bowed as well as a response, sitting in front of Luke.

The princess then focused her attention on the newcomer recruit, raising an eyebrow "So, you must be Mara, the survivor we found in the Nonnah… I am Leia Organa."

Mara dropped the utensils, faking surprise, of course she expected the princess to show up eventually considering that the reports said her and Skywalker were pretty close "Your highness… It´s an honor to meet you." She said, bowing her head as well, with a perfect fake shyness.

The Alderaanian princess just smiled even more "I´m glad to meet you too, I know you did a good part in the battle and that you survived a ground attack from the empire against the shuttle, I am happy the rebellion now has a great fighter like you." Leia congratulated the redhead in a very diplomatic way, she was used to that after all. Mara smiled and looked at the princess in the eyes, nodding "Thank you, I´m happy to help…"

Luke then stared at Leia and, after swallowing, he asked, some time he decided to try and talk with his mouth full and the results weren´t very pleasant "Leia… Are there any news about Han?" he asked with clear innocence in his voice, but the princess changed her gesture from smile to an annoyed one and crossed her arms in front of her chest "Captain Solo hasn´t had the decency of making contact yet ad, honestly, I don´t care. If it wasn´t because we need those medicines he is smuggling he could stay in Ord Mantell for what I care."

Mara raised his eyes from her plate and looked curiously at the princess, you didn´t need to be force sensitive to see that she was lying in a more obvious way than if she said that Darth Vader himself was her father.. Luke had also noticed that and sighed a little "I´m sure they are okay, Chewie is with him. It could be that they just ran into a problem, that they needed to delay their leaving to avoid an imperial patrol or maybe that piece of junk´s hyperdrive is broken once again." He added with a chuckle.

Leia rolled her eyes before sighing in exasperation "I don´t know why he doesn´t get rid of that freighter… The alliance could provide him with a much better vehicle."

"I have to say I understand him" Luke said "I cannot even think about changing my X-Wing or what I´m gonna do when it gets destroyed… I dunno… That ship and I have been through a lot together, and I am sure that the relationship between Han and the falcon is even more intense."

The princess of Alderaan puffed a little, even though she kind of let aside her proud attitude about Han. Meanwhile, the rest of the table was silent, quietly observing the scene with interest, it was very well known that the princess and the smuggler had a quite peculiar relationship gong on between them.

Leia crossed her arms once again before answering "I really don't get what you buys have with your ships… Or your ships´ size… Or your ships´ speed… Maybe you are trying to compensate something…"

Mara couldn´t hold laughter just like most of the present pilots, the smile returned to the princess´ face and the rest of the dinner went through rather peacefully with nice chatting and joking around.

…

The Rebellion´s flag ship, Home one, floated in the vacuum of the space near the edge that separated the mid rim and the outer rim, just between Naboo and Abra systems. However, a few light years away, and far from any crowded commerce route, was the Bothawi system, where the lion-like race who had provided the alliance with the majority of their best spies had it´s origin. The space avibe the planet seemed quiet, the system was officially part of the empire, even though the governors managed to negotiate a bargain for them to stay neutral in the current Civil war in exchange of the empire being able to use their resources and only leaving a small command, allowing the Bothans to live their lives peacefully. The empire didn´t try too hard to persuade the bothans, the planet was no good for a ship base or any kind of facility since an asteroid ring surrounded it, making quite difficult for a big ship to enter or go out from there without suffering some kind of damage.

However, a ship came out the hyperspace and stopped just before entering the asteroid field. The motive for their approach to the planet was the rebellion´s intelligence main quarters located on Bothawi´s surface, hiding from the empire, getting coded transmissions and with an open channel directly with Home One.

With a light explosion the YT-1300 Corellian freighter stopped before entering the asteroids. The Millenium Falcon had spent a few days making random hyperspace jumps, travelling from one point in the galaxy to another, until they finally got there.

In the cockpit, Han Solo observed the navicomputer "Uhmmm… Alright, we finally are in Bothawi. This is the fourth jum we had made. You think we finally managed to get rid of that annoying droid?" he asked to his copilot.

The huge Wookie answered only with a growl and pushed some buttons to run a scan of their surroundings, informing Hand with a series of grunting in the Wookie language in a positive manner. The Corellian sighed in relief and laid against his chair while placing his feet on the control panel "It was about time, he was persistent, I have to give him that" said Han "For real, my friend, I have to get rid of that damned bounty on my head, now that I have money."

Chewbacca gave him a worried grunt as an answer and Han simply rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah… I know it would take a while and I know we will have to leave, but it´s not that big deal… Those kids can survive without me for a while."

New growl, and Han clenched his teeth "Yeah sure, we will be safe with the alliance… But c´mon Chewie, you know me better than that! I am not going to be stuck on that big ship just ot be sure a bounty hunter is not behind my back" he countered, a little bit annoyed "You know I just cannot stay still in one place for a long time! I like to be in move! First we will fix this situation and then we will wee what we do, okay? I have been an idiot allowing my guard to get down, we nearly didn´t make it out of Ord Mantell."

With that Chewbacca didn´t answer, he just sat on his chair, with a moody gesture and grunted a question "What we are going to do now is contact the Bothan intelligence base and ask them to give us the coordinates for Home One, , I´m not gonna risk sending a transmission on my own on such a long rank inside imperial territory, I don´t have the codification machinery here… But for that we need to get through this asteroid field so keep your finger on the trigger."

As soon as he finished talking Han took the controls once again and he started slowly getting inside the asteroid ring, luckily it was not a too long ride and they didn´t have much trouble to cross it, Chewie took care of a pair of rocks that were in the way and in less than fifteen minutes they were safe on the other side of the ring, floating just over Bothawi, so Han opened the comms for all the rebel frequencies.

"This is Captain Solo from the Millenium Falcon, do you copy?" there was no answer ""This is Captain Solo from the Millenium Falcon, does someone copy?"

A few seconds passed without response until the comm made a buzzing sound, indicating that the transmission had begun "This is Rebel alliance´s intelligence Command, Captain Solo, we Copy."

Han sighed in relief "I´m on the space above Bothawi, I cannot risk sending a transmission to Home One. My mission in Ord Mantell suffered an unexpected delay, I request the coordinates of the base ship so I can head there, and also that you transmit to warn them of my arrival and positive results on the mission."

"Copy that, Captain Solo, please transmit your identification code." Han pressed two buttons and he got a reply a few seconds later "Very well Captain Solo, sending the coordinates to you, good flight, Home One will be informed of your arrival and results. Intelligence out."

Han smiled and stared at the transmission screen, if he wasn´t wrong, those coordinates were in the edge of the outer rim, near Naboo, "Chewie, settle the coordinates in the navicomputer" he heard the Wookie growl and he frowned "I know the hyperdrive is on it´s lasts… But it would need to hold on this last jump, we will make repairs on the base, now settle the coordinates already!"

A few minutes later Chewbacca had finished making the calculations while Han passed again through the asteroid field so they didn´t have problems with the jump, and the Millenium falcon disappeared into the space.

…..

Very well then… We´re here." Luke said as soon as Mara and him stopped walking when they got to Mara´s room, stopping outside the door. "You didn´t have to walk me to my room, Luke" the redhead said "I´m a big girl, I know how to get here on my own."The young man shrugged "Well, It´s on my way too and it´s easy to get lost here during your first days…" Mara raised a playful eyebrow "Oh really? What way is your room?" she asked, and Luke blushed a little, looking at his shoes as he pointed to the direction they were coming from, Mara couldn´t help but laugh "You know? You aren´t a good liar… Maybe you should practice that, maybe you would find it useful during your life as a rebel."

Luke frowned lightly "I don´t wanna lie to be a rebel" he explained "my uncle always told me that lying was a huge lack of respect towards the other person…"

The redhead titled her head curiously when she heard that "Oh really? That´s an interesting education what you have there, farmboy." She commented with a smirk, and Luke simply laughed a little "You know? If you finally make it to the Rogues I will be your commander." He asked, trying to counter that nickname.

But Mara just shrugged, like giving little importance to that fact "You just make sure you make those trials happen soon. I guess I will see you tomorrow, commander farmboy."

They stood there for a few moments and Mara moved to go to her room, but then leaned forward to give Luke a peek on the cheek, turning around with a smile to get into her room and closing the door behind her. Luke stood there for a moment, completely still and with a stupid grin on his face. After a few moments he also turned around to walk towards his room.

Mara sighed and closed her eyes, it had been a long and productive day for sure, she would have never imagined doing so much progress only on her first day and approach to the boy… In fact, she was pretty sure that, if she only forced the situation a little, she would have the young Jedi eating from the palm of her hand in record time. However, when she laid on the bed she had dropped those thoughts and she was just relaxing, remembering the feeling of receiving Luke´s mind while he was meditating… And it was at that moment when that little drop of light buried in her mind went noticeable again, making the redhead frown… She knew what that was, and ic ould be even good, a connection with Skywalker might turn out useful during her mission, but it could be bad as well if the young man discovered her, she would need to work hard on her mental shields to avoid that, luckily for her, shielding her mind was one of the things the emperor had taught her like a priority.

She closed her eyes and got to work. However, while she slowly but firmly built barriers on her mind and force presence, she felt someone trying to contact her, and since there were nearly no chances of Skywalker being meditating this late, she sighed and opened her mind.

" _My child…"_ Mara closed her eyes before answering _"Yes, my master."_

Palpatine´s demanding and overwhelming voice invaded her mind full of hate and anger, making her shiver a little and denying that light she had been focusing on just a few moments ago _"I trust things are going well, my hand."_

" _Of course, my master. Young Skywalker wont be a challenge, he trusts me completel, he had even offered me a spot on his flying squadron…"_

" _Good… Good… I expect quickness in your task in case Vader fails, my dear child, Skywalker would not be able to resist you."_

" _Master… Do you wish I inform you about the alliance´s movements?"_ Mara asked then, hoping to get some other job, not only being a plan B, but her master´s response was clear _"No, we don´t need it, they are not dangerous and that could only grow suspicions, we cannot allow that… Now rest, my child, you are doing a good job."_

" _Thank you, my master…"_ but the connection had already been cut before Mara finished talking.

After the conversation Mara closed her eyes once again letting out a sigh, she had to finish building those mind barriers before going to sleep.

**And that was chapter 4 for you guys. Considering Mara was getting soft too fast (she has only been a day on the base) I think it was necessary that Palpatine reminded her who she is, right? Very well then, what it is clear is that our young Jedi is falling completely under the spell of our dearest redhead, let´s see how everything develops from here xD**

**Any type of constructive critics, suggestions or just opinions are good taken, actually, I am very grateful for them, I like to know what my readers think and try to make you happy if you want to read something concrete (that doesn´t make the story fall, of course xD)**

**I hope the next chapter will be finished earlier than this one since the finals are going to be be over soon, so stay alert.**

**That´s all from my part, see you all next chapter. Don´t forget to review, be good and may the force be with you, always :P**


	5. Swords and Advice

**Well, sorry about the wait, here is the next chapter :) Once again thank you so much for the great reviews this story is having, I am overwhelmed that you guys like it so much :) Nothing else to say, let´s go with chapter 5**

_Home one – Two weeks later_

Luke slowly opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the table next to his bed. He let out a desperate moan when he realized there were still two hours left until breakfast was ready. He obviously wasn´t going to fall sleep again, the young rebel used to have a deep sleep, but he had been having some weird dreams lately, those dreams usually focused around certain redhead and made him woke up in the middle of the night, even covered in sweat sometimes.

The dreams were nothing alike, sometimes there were him and Mara laying on the ground, holding each other´s hands while they agonize even though Luke couldn´t tell what was killing them. Other times they were performing some activities that make him woke up completely heated, but for some weird reason he didn´t see that situation as a strange one, in fact, he discovered himself not minding it at all. However there was this one dream, which creeped him out the most, where he was flying on his X-Wing and, suddenly, he realized Mara was behind him, even though the fighter was not designed to carry more than one passenger. The very moment Luke turned around to look at her, she would kiss him fiercely and passionately, but he suddenly felt an intense pain in his stomach, onlu to realize that she had tossed a knife on his gut and, once he took his eyes back to Mara´s, the redhead´s eyes weren´t green anymore, but golden.

The future Jedi found those kind of things frustrating, as a Jedi, he was supposed to avoid those dreams disturb him and it frustrated him not being able to control himself, even though the training he had received was only a little more than nothing.

And then there was that little light at the bottom of his head that had appeared two weeks earlier. It was still there, and Luke could feel it even better when he was meditating, even though that person shielded himself or herself for some reason when he tried to reach to the important part of it. He was never the one being contacted so he was always the one looking for the peace and feeling of tranquility that presence gave him during his meditation sessions.

However, it also frustrated him not being able to determine who that person was, it was clear that some other fore sensitive was there at the base and he was actually excited about that idea, so he was willing to meet him or her, and he didn't understand why it seemed so determined to hide itself… Everyone in the base knew Luke was force sensitive. In fact, they were all excited about the idea of having a Jedi hero on their side… Wouldn't it be a relief for him or her to know that it was not the only one as well?

But there was no pint on thinking about it more, so the young man from Tatooine decided it was time to get off bed, he didn´t have a shower since he was going to need it later, he didn´t meditate or clean himself either, he didn´t feel like it at the time, he had just out a lot of thought into what bothered him durng meditation and the last him he wanted was thinking about it again, so he just dressed up with a simple pair of sport trousers and a sleeveless T-shirt to get out of his room and walk towards the base´s gym.

While he walked he also stretched his neck, shoulders and arms. If he was going to exercise he would need to get his muscles ready, as a matter of fact, if his force training had helped him with something it was that his physical capabilities were improving immensely, not even him believed it, he assumed it was due to his blindfolded training with his lightsaber, trying to use his instinct and force enhanced senses to block the lasers from the training device.

When he entered the gym he was surprised to find out that the lights were already on, it wasn´t usual for someone to get there that early in the morning, so he peeked in and looked around curiously, only to stop and find himself completely astonished with the view in front of him.

Mara Jade was there, running on the treadmill showing her back to him, she was wearing just a top that covered her just down her chest, her scarlet hair was tied up in a ponytail and she wore a pair of fit pants which let every curve on her body shine.

Luke couldn´t help but notice the little sweat drops slicing down her back and arms, and that made him gulp a little. Mara should have felt him because she quickly stopped her run and the redhead spoke while she panted trying to recover her breath "Are you finished staring like a dummy, farmboy?" she asked "Or do you want me to keep running for you a little longer?"

Luke shook his head then and his face turned bright red "Wh-What?" he clumsily asked, not really knowing what to say "I… I w-wasn´t…"

She then laughed "C´mon there, Skywalker, I know you were looking, I would actually worry about my features or maybe because you played for the other team if you didn´t. Just like I can´t help but notice that you hide a lot of stuff under those loose clothes you wear… Nice…" she added with a smile, playfully caressing Luke´s toned abbs with a finger, he gulped and backed down a little abruptly "I ehm… Thank you…"

Mara just smiled and shook her head "I still cannot believe that the Rebellion´s great hero is just a shy farmboy…"

"Hey!" he protested, but Mara just tossed the subject away with a gesture of her hand, like not giving a shit about it.

"C´mon now, Skywalker, I haven´t said anything bad, it´s nothing to be ashamed about, to be honest." The redhead decided that she had already talked too much about that and she decided to change the subject, cracking her neck and stretching a little "Anyway, what are you doing here this early?"

Luke just shrugged "I have been dreaming weird things lately, and I wake up early when it happens… So I just come here to entertain myself until breakfast time." The rebel explained, not seeming worried about it at all.

Mara nodded "I know what you mean, I have been here two weeks already and I still have trouble sleeping with all that has happened… You know, I still dream with that day sometimes." The emperor´s hand had taken a perfect role of the survivor adapting to a new home, but with the survivor´s guilt hunting her, she also included some drops of trauma on his usual mix of sarcasm, jokes and cockiness… If she didn't the rebels would never believe she was genuine, and if Mara needed something right now was for them to believe her.

Luke locked his blue eyes in her green ones and smiled "Yes, I understand. I still dream a lot with the deaths of Ben or my aunt and uncle…" he explained. During those past two weeks Mara and him had talked a lot, and Luke told her everything about him and his story, and she had trusted him too, or at least that was what he thought, since everything Mara told him about her past life and how she ended up being where he found her was part of a perfect acted fake backstory.

Mara knew what Luke was talking about anyway so she smiled at her, trying to empathize "I guess exercise clears both our minds, huh?"

The young rebel smiled and shrugged a little, not really knowing what to say next, even though he felt comfortable around Mara, her more direct personality made him back down sometimes.

Mara realized that the boy was starting to seem a little shy, and she knew that if she went on with that kind of conversation, he was not going to achieve anything else than making the rest of the conversation uncomfortable for both of them, so she decided to completely change subjects "I am actually surprised to see you on the gym and not practicing with that lightsaber of yours" she said nonchalantly, so Luke looked at the machines in the gym.

"I don´t know… Lightsaber training is not that relaxing I guess, I still need a deep focus for it after all… And since I only know a few basic moves I have to train on my own… I don´t know anyone with that type of training anyway."

"You mean sword training?" she asked "I know a thing or two in that matter!" Luke raised an eyebrow, doubtfully, true that he had never asked Mara about her combat capabilities, but considering that she managed to survive the imperial attack the day the met they should be pretty good.

"You know about lightsaber training?" he asked, looking clearly surprised, but Mara answered with a little laughter.

"What? Of course not! But in the imperial academy we are trained in hand to hand combat… you know, electric sticks and those kind of things… I could try and help you, I think you rebels don´t have anything like that here, right?"

It was a lie, of course, the emperor and his assassins had trained her in every kind of combat technique, including lightsaber, even though she had never been granted with her own.

Luke´s face literally got brighter when he heard that, he perspective of training with someone real looked like a dream for him, and the fact of his training partner being Mara Jade made it even better "Of course! I get it… Well… I would like for you to help me… If you want…"

Mara smiled back at him and shoved his shoulder playfully "Of course I want to, Skywalker, I was the one offering for it now, wasn´t I?"she declared, with a singing voice that made Luke smile even more, he loved seeing Mara happy. True fact, the redhead never stopped surprising him, she was a little closed with the rest of the base, not that she didn´t talk, or fit in, but she didn´t seem to give any sings of trusting anyone but him… Luke thought it was because he was the one who rescued her and, perhaps, they could have developed some kind of special relationship, and besides, they had discovered that they had a lot of things in common.

"C´mon! Move and give me a hand with this!" Luke was taken back to reality when Mara´s voice hit him. In fact, the redhead was no longer in front of him, but kneeled down next to some weights and she was now trying to empty a stick long enough to be a sword from the disks. Btu apparently they were too heavy for her.

"Yeah, sure…" he said approaching her and, after some effort, he managed to empty the stick.

"Take this one and let me know if you think it fits" Mara told him as she handed him the metal stick. Luke grabbed it with both hands and hold it like if it was a sword. It had the right length, that was for certain.

"It´s quite heavy, but I can move it."

Mara approached another longer stick with smaller weights on it and started emptying it too "That´s good, for what I know lightsabers are nto heavy, right? Because they are a laser and that stuff…" Mara played dumb on that matter, even though what she was saying made a lot of sense, and considering that Mara was smart, Luke didn´t have any problems believing that she had gotten to that conclusion on her own. The redhead kept talking while she grabbed her own metal bar, long enough to be a combat stick, and swinged it around with both hands "think about it, if you train with something heavier than what you actually use when you fight, and you manage to fight with it, when you use the lighter thing you will move faster, right?"

The young Jedy apprentice looked at the bar he was holding and thought about the girl´s words… Actually they made a lot of sense, so he nodded "Alright then, let´s do it" he said, swinging his sword on his hand a few times ot get used to it and he took his sword fighting stance, the basic form of fighting Ben had taught him, with the edge up and pointing at his opponent.

Mara smiled and grabbed her own bar with both hands, leaving a gap between both her hands, and using it as a combat stick due to its length. She could also perfectly use a bar with the perfect length for a sword, but she didn't want to risk to be asked about how she had learned to use it, only some imperial soldiers had electric stick training after all, specially the ones trained by old Clone Wars veterans, since they said that the ones who were good at it could even hold their own against a Jedi´s lightsaber. But there were no weapons in the imperial academy used like a sword, so it probably might seem suspicious for her to know how to fight with one.

"I´m gonna attack now, see how you move" she announced, before stepping forward and lightly test Luke with two strikes. The first one was with the right end of the stick to Luke´s head, and the next second she used the opposite one to try and hit in on his side.

The young boy discovered that the exercise was not too different to deflecting laser bolts from that training ball, and he didn´t have any trouble blocking both attacks, but Mara didn´t stop there, she twisted on herself to attack again, and she continued attacking making the strikes faster and faster.

Luke was actually surprised about him being able to follow the redhead´s moves, even though he wasn´t able to build any kind of offensive attempt he managed to block or dodge every single strike sharply, he wasn´t sure if he was using the force but in some way it felt similar to when he was training blindfolded and he used his instinct and tried to enhance his other senses with the force, even though he was also trusting his eyes this time.

Mara was actually petty impressed. Young Skywalker wasn´t only keeping up with her without any kind of training, or at least that was what he had said to her, but he was also using the force to try and foresee her moves. Mara was certain about him not doing that on purpose, but by pure instinct, the force flowing from him was surrounding the young buy but it was not controlled, the feeling was primitive and pure, it was clear that the young farmer didn´t know anything about his hidden potential or about how to use practically anything of the power inside him, but she understood why the emperor considered him a potential threat.

They both were exchanging fast and sharp strikes, even though didn´t manage to attack much. It was clear for him that, even though the training Mara had received could have been basic, she at least knew how to attack, in his sessions with Ben he had focused mostly on defense and to use the basic postures of a form which the old Jedi had called "Soresu", but the young Skywalker felt proud of himself for at least being able to hold Mara´s attacks… But if he wasn´t able to attack against Mara how in seven hells was he supposed to beat the Emperor or Vader…?

A moment came when Mara wanted to test something different and when she launched her strike for Luke to block she lightly jumped and kicked the young man on his waist. He didn´t even see it coming and when eh took the hit and backed down Mara took her chance to hit him in the middle of the chest with her stick, managing to make him fall to the ground "Hehehe" she mocked a little "a little advice, farmboy, if you are going to fight against people from the empire you should always expect them to cheat, and you probably should do it too."

The redhead wasn´t sure about why she was giving Luke that kind of advice, sometimes she forgot about him being her target and that was one of those moments, since she had really enjoyed the training with an opponent that had actually surprised her for good.

Luke just smiled while he stayed on the ground, looking right to her green eyes "Not taken" he said, and he suddenly used his legs to grab hers from the ground and made her fall as well.

Using her surprise to his advantage he didn´t waste time and pushed Mara down against the ground, placing himself on top of her, using his own weight to hold her down and catching her wrists with his hands.

"Cheating like this, you mean?" he asked with a smirk on his face, one that was rare on him, actually. But there was something about them training with little clothing that had pushed him to, indirectly, seek for physical contact with her.

Mara couldn't´ help but stay still for a moment when she realized that, without a doubt, Luke Skywalker had beaten her, she couldn't move and no matter how much she struggled she was not going to set free of that since he was stronger than her and on top of that he was only using his weight to hold her, she would need to completely lift him and also beat his strength. It was also true that the redhead could think about a few ways to get out of that situation, one of those was using the force, but she couldn't use any of them without blowing up her cover, so she just decided to play along.

However, while she was lost in her thoughts, she didn´t realize that Skywalker´s face was only a few centimeters away from hers, and when she turned her head to look at him she realized that Skywalker´s smirk was gone now, and his face was tense. Mara suddenly started to feel how some kind of blush threatened to cover her pale cheeks so she decided to end that situation before it could happen "Yeah… exactly like those… Now get off me already…"

She actually would have liked if her voice sounded a little more convinced on her own words, but she doubted that they would have had any kind of effect on Skywalker anyway, Luke just answered.

"Yeah… Sure…" but he didn´t move.

That was starting to make Mara uncomfortable; she didn't like being that close to anyone without her acceptance… Even though what made her feel the most uncomfortable with herself was that she didn´t have that urge of pushing Luke away. Luckily, something interrupted the scene "Ahem!" the cuple turned their heads towards the voice, only to see Han Solo laying against the Gym door´s edge, observing him while he tilted his head curiously "Am I interrupting something?"

Luke gasped and he stood up almost immediately, looking like he had just gotten out of a trance, and he shook his head energetically "No! Not at all!"" he assured, with a voice tone higher than usual "We were just training… She was helping me train with my lightsaber… And to not let my opponent cheat…"

"Sure, of course kid, I didn´t get any other idea" answered the smuggler with a smirk on his lips "By the way, they sent me to get you, I think Leia wants to talk to you about something before breakfast, so move, I don´t want to make her wait."

Luke smiled and cleaned his sweat from his forehead using his forearm, and he turned around to look at Mara, who was standing behind him with her arms crossed and looked at Solo with blank expression. The redhead was upset about the interruption, even though she would never admit the true reason she had wanted that situation to keep going, but it was true that she was slowly gaining more and more of Luke´s trust… It was a pity she hadn´t been able to deep more in that training and closeness so she could have him eating from the palm of her hand.

"I´m sorry, Mara, thank you very much for the training… Seeya at Breakfast!" Luke said, running after Han, who was already walking away, while he waved his goodbyes to Mara.

"Sure the redhead answered with a sincere smile, it was impossible for her not to like that boy´s attitude, even though he was her target.

Once the rebels had gotten away from the gym, Luke walked beside Han "So… do you know what Leia wants from me?" he asked curiously, but Han shook his head.

"Nothing, that was a lie, I was actually looking for you so we could have breakfast" explained Han, btu then he turned towards his friend, a serious look on his face "But then I decided I wanted to talk to you."

"Ehm…" Luke seemed surprise about the sudden attitude change from he Corellian, he didn´t use to be that serious at all "Okay… What is it?"

"It´s about Red, and how you too seem to have grown very close lately" Luke then changed his face as well to a more serious one, Red was the nickname Han had given Mara for obvious reasons, but there was something odd about that.

"Wait a second, I thought you like Mara…"

"That´s true, she doesn´t seem like a bad girl, I like her and she has a good pair, to be honest" Han answered "but Luke, be realistic… How long had she been here? Two weeks? We don´t know anything about her yet, for god´s sake, even intelligence has been searching for a traitor…"

"Hold on there…" the farmboy interrupted Han, surprised "How the hell do you know about the traitor?" Han rolled his eyes.

"C´mon, kid, give me some credit" answered the Corellian, like if was obvious "A mission is compromised because the Empire suddenly knew our convoy´s route and, suddenly, all by chances of destiny, intelligence starts making the entire base go through a routine interrogation and interviews… It´s not too hard to put two and two together, and I am sure I am not the only one who has done it."

"I knew we shouldn´t have make it that obvious…" Luke complained, but then he raised his head "wait a second… Are you implying that Mara is the traitor? Intelligence questioned her one of the firsts and they didn´t find anything at all."

"Look, kid, admit that it looks suspicious… AN imperial attack and she is the only survivor? I don't know if that´s is very…" but Luke interrupted him by raising a finger to make him shut up.

"That´s enough, Han. Look, I know what I am doing, It´s not like I am falling in love with her or anything… She is a great girl and we have a lot in common, end of the story, and besides, I trust her."

"Ant that´s exactly the problem, Luke!" Han said "You barely even know her! You cannot just blindly trust anyone that fast… Hell, you shouldn´t even trust me yet! But you do. And to be fair, we both know you have a tendency to develop… Affection towards the hot girls you rescue."

"That… Hasn´t anything to do with his…" Luke argued, looking down and avoiding Han´s gaze.

"Luke, even though your crush on Leia didn't last long it was there… Who tells you it´s not happening the same with Mara?"

"Because it´s not the same! I feel a connection with her! There is something different, I don't know what it is yet, but it is like we know what the other person is gonna say or do every moment… It´s almost like we can read each other´s minds. What happened with Leia was a misunderstanding, besides, I can take care of myself, Han, I don´t need advice about girls. I should be the one giving them to you as a matter of fact." Luke defended himself, but Han just laughed like if Luke had just said something stupid.

"Pft… C´mon now, kid… Like if I needed your advice to get la…"

"My advice, Han, is that you should stop messing around with Leia, because It´s going to be too late if you keep it this way." Luke lectured him interrupting the Corellian a second time.

Han´s face abruptly changed when he heard that "Where the hell did you get that idea? There is nothing between Leia and I, she is not even my type… A Princess… No thanks."

"Sure thing, I have seen you constantly flirt with her."

Luke, I flirt with every single girl around me."

"Oh yeah? I haven´t seen you flirt with anyone since you know Leia" the blonde answered matter of factly, leaving Han without knowing what to say when eh realized Luke was right "Look, I know there is that little issue about you having a bounty on your head… But you are with us, Han, nothing is going to happen to you. We are at war, anything can happen anytime, you would be dumb if you let this chance slip through your fingers. Now, if you excuse me, I am going to have a shower, I need it before breakfast."

And without any more words, Luke turned around and started walking towards his room, leaving Han lost in his thoughts in the middle of the base´s corridor.

**And that´s it! I guess it´s worth warning you that Leia and Han´s story is not going to have a lot of variations from how it goes across the original trilogy, since I honestly think it is perfect that way xD However, I want to introduce some things happening between scenes, like this conversation you have just read, tell me what you think about it even though they are not the main couple.**

**But let´s talk about the main couple now. I know hot training is a cliché but I think Mara would try and get physically close to Luke to try and earn his trust, don´t you guys think the same? Even though we see her a little more open and soft with the young Jedi. Where would that lead? You guys will have to wait to find out.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, like always, in the next one the plot will advance towards the Empire, some developing will happen and some important events will take place… I hope xD Any building critic, idea or just opinion you guys have about the chapter or the story, in general, would be appreciated, I want to know what you guys think about how this is going, I am writing it for you guys, after all. So you know, don´t be shy and leave me your reviews. : )**

**Nothing else form y part, see you guys next chapter, don't forget to comment, be good and may the force be with you :P**


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